Wall Street Retreats to End Week; How Did This Stock Fare: AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)

by Engelwood Staff — November 19, 2016

Wall Street retreated on Friday, ending the week on a lower note as the dollar surged to multiyear highs amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates after statements by policy makers bolstered the prospects.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) closed at $60.52 after seeing 6985382 shares trade hands during the most recent session. This represents a change of -1.83% from the opening.

The closing price represents the final price that a stock is traded for on a trading day. It’s the most up-to-date valuation until trading begins again on the next day. However, most financial instruments are traded after hours, which means that the the closing price of a stock might not match the after-hours price. Regardless, closing prices are a useful tool that investors use to quantify changes in stock prices over time. The closing prices are compared day-by-day to look for trends and can measure market sentiment for any security over the course of a trading day.

Stock exchanges work according to the invisible hand of supply and demand, which determines the price where stocks are bought and sold. No trade can occur until someone is willing to sell a stock at a price that another is willing to buy it at. When there are more buyers than sellers, the stock price will rise because of the increased demand. Conversely, if more individuals are selling a stock, the price will decrease.

On any given trading day, supply and demand fluctuates back-and-forth because the attractiveness of a commodity’s price rises and falls. Because of these fluctuations, the closing and opening prices are not necessarily identical. A number of factors can affect the attractiveness of a stock in the hours between the closing bell and the next day’s opening bell. For example, if there is good news like a positive earnings announcement, the demand for a stock may increase, raising the price from the previous day’s close. It follows that bad news will negatively affect price.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

Let’s take a look at how the stock has been performing recently. Year to date AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is 6.11%. Over the last week of the month, it was -4.09%, -8.85% over the last quarter, and 3.90% for the past six months.

Over the past 50 days, AbbVie Inc. stock’s -6.96% off of the high and 9.92% removed from the low. Their 52-Week High and Low are noted here. -10.34% (High), 22.67%, (Low).

FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS

Fundamental analysis examines the financial elements of a company, for example; sales, cash flow, profit and balance sheet. These numbers are then crunched to create theoretical valuations of companies.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) is the earnings made by a company divided by their number of shares. EPS enables the earnings of a company to easily be compared to their competitors. The higher the number, the more profit per dollar is being made on investor capital. AbbVie Inc.’s trailing 12-month EPS is 3.72. Their EPS should be compared to other companies in the Healthcare sector.

Price-to-Earnings Ratio is the current share price divided by annual earnings per share. P/E provides a number that details how many years of earnings it will take a stock to recoup the value of one share at current price levels. Easy to calculate and understand, P/E is an extremely common ratio that is used to compare valuations of stocks against each other relatively. AbbVie Inc.’s P/E ratio is 16.28.

Projected Earnings Growth (PEG) is a forward looking ratio based on anticipated earnings growth. PEG is created by dividing P/E by the projected rate of earnings growth. AbbVie Inc.’s PEG is 1.09.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Technical analysts have little regard for the value of a company. They use historic price data to observe stock price patterns to predict the direction of that price going forward. Analysts use common formulas and ratios to accomplish this.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) is 47.63. RSI is a technical indicator of price momentum, comparing the size of recent gains to the size of recent losses and establishes oversold and overbought positions.

Nothing contained in this publication is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.